Two-Year Prison Sentence for Ex-FA Over “Lying”

March 12, 2019

A former Florida financial advisor is heading to prison for two years for allegedly lying to his clients as well as to the SEC, according to news reports.

Richard Cody pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Investment Advisors Act and two counts of making a false declaration in a court proceeding, according to InvestmentNews. He had been an investment advisor to three clients from May 2005 to August 2016, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts cited by the publication.

Cody allegedly deceived the victims about the state of their retirement accounts while they lost value and, in two clients’ cases, were wiped out entirely, the U.S. Attorney’s office said, according to the publication.

Cody also allegedly sent his clients bogus account and tax documents to hide his alleged fraud, and failed to tell them he’d been suspended in 2013 from serving as an investment advisor, InvestmentNews writes.

The former advisor must also pay a $30,000 fine and serve two years of supervised release following his prison sentence, according to the publication.

Cody first became a registered representative in 1997, with Merrill Lynch, and was discharged by his last employer, IFS Securities, in 2016, InvestmentNews writes, citing BrokerCheck. Finra barred Cody in 2018, according to the publication.

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Cody had worked with seven companies in total and collected several customer disputes, according to the publication. From 2005 to 2016, he had been registered with Gunnallen Financial, Westminster Financial and Concorde Investment Services, InvestmentNews writes.